[MissTeeks]

http://vansunsportsblogs.com/2014/04...ng-2011-final/

This is a story that’s been floating around ever since — full disclosure: I’d heard it before too, from someone else who was in the room — but this is the first time it’s been aired publicly, so it’s your chance to get a window into how truly over the Canucks thought the series when they arrived in Boston. It’s pretty cringe-inducing.

I think the arrogance is a real issue. I think that he did a good job. Dave Nonis put together most of that team, but the tweaks that he made on the run to the Cup Final, I think were really good. But I think the moves he made over the last couple years were lousy, and he would never admit to it.
Quick story: at the Cup Final, Vancouver wins the first two games in Vancouver. We go to Boston. We have our crew meal out at this Italian restaurant in Boston, so everybody. There’s like 30 people there. The cameramen, everybody.
Gillis and Aquilini happen to come into the same restaurant and they pop into the back room with us.
Aquilini barely said a word. Really nice — he bought several $500 bottle of wine. He bought a $2000 bottle of tequila that was spread around our crew, and he sat there, and Mike Gillis basically sat there and talked about how he built a champion.
And I sat there at that moment, like, listening to him — they were very nice — but, there was… Mike Gillis talked like he’d already won the Stanley Cup. And I walked out of there going, man, if they lose this, like, he really thinks they’ve won the Stanley Cup. And Aquilini, the way he’s throwing around the booze — again, really nice guy, thank you, I appreciated the shot, my $400 shot of tequila or whatever it was — but they were acting like champions already.
I think that that kind of arrogance gets you in trouble. When you don’t think you’re ever wrong about anything. The fans aren’t stupid and that can get to bother people. That doesn’t matter if you win., That’s fine. But if you start losing, that can be thing that really pushes people over the edge, and you get those Fire Gillis chants.
I go back to Kenny Holland or even Dave Nonis. They don’t get too high when they’re up, they don’t get too low. They’re likeable guys. That’s not gonna save your job when you’re sucking, but it might give you the benefit of the doubt. Whereas, I think the way Mike handled the media, a bunch of people out there… I dunno. He was a frustrating guy to deal with.